Noggin HQ Raises £2.3M Seed Round to Scale Alternative Credit Scoring Technology

Noggin HQ Raises £2.3M Seed Round to Scale Alternative Credit Scoring Technology

Newcastle-based fintech Noggin HQ has raised £2.3 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round as it prepares to expand its alternative credit scoring technology across the UK lending market.

The funding round was led by Blackfinch Ventures, with continued participation from Oxford Capital, Bethnal Green Ventures and domain-specific angel investors including Alastair Douglas, former CEO of TotallyMoney.

The funding comes alongside an important regulatory milestone for the company. Noggin HQ has obtained credit referencing authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), allowing it to provide its cashflow-based credit data to FCA-authorised lenders.

Noggin HQ uses permissioned banking transaction data to help lenders assess customers who may be overlooked by traditional credit scoring systems. Instead of relying solely on conventional credit reference information, the company's technology analyses customers' financial activity and cash flow to provide lenders with additional information when assessing creditworthiness.

The company says its approach is designed to identify creditworthy consumers who may not fit traditional credit assessment models. Its technology is particularly focused on people whose financial circumstances may not be fully represented by conventional credit histories.

The FCA authorisation represents a significant step for Noggin HQ. The company said it is now one of only a handful of businesses to have obtained a licence to become a credit reference agency in the UK during the past decade.

With the regulatory approval in place, Noggin HQ can now move from successful pilot programmes toward broader market adoption among FCA-authorised lenders. The latest funding will support this expansion and help the company develop its technology and commercial operations.

Noggin HQ was founded by childhood friends Evangeline Atkinson and Laura Mills. The founders were motivated to build the company after both experienced being declined for credit despite working full-time and consistently paying rent and household bills.

Atkinson said the UK credit market has changed significantly, with consumers increasingly earning, spending and borrowing in more complex ways, while much of the country's credit referencing infrastructure continues to rely on older assessment models.

The company previously raised £710,000 in pre-seed funding led by Oxford Capital, with participation from Bethnal Green Ventures and other investors.

The latest investment gives Noggin HQ additional capital to build on its early pilots while operating within the regulatory framework required to provide credit reference services.

For UK lenders, alternative credit data could provide another way to assess customers whose financial circumstances are not adequately captured by traditional credit histories. For Noggin HQ, the challenge now is turning that proposition into wider adoption while maintaining the regulatory and data standards required of a credit reference agency.